Running with Orioles

Today was my 4th visit to the park in as many days and I figured I'd change it up a little by jogging around instead of walking. I've done this before, and often enough to actually make it all the way around without stopping. I didn't make it all the way today as I just had to stop because of some great views of Baltimore Orioles. It's hard to catch a good photo of these birds even if you set out to do so, so I certainly wasn't going to jog right past them. The first one I saw was on the south side in a tall tree where I've only heard them before. I've learned it to be true that it's much more common to hear Orioles versus seeing them as they usually perch so high up in a tree that you'll never catch a glimpse of them -despite their almost neon-orange coloring. As I jogged around I had 2 more decent photo-ops of Orioles and noticed that each time they were perched in the same type of tree. I think they were either Cottonwood or Poplar trees based on the leaves but I'm not sure. I wonder what attracts them to these trees. The other two I spotted were on the north side before the bridge and then on the south east side. I was pretty stoked with all the various Oriole pics I'd got this visit but decided to post just the 2 best pics and include this other photo of a Doe that walked right out onto the trail in front of me. This is why I love coming to Palmer Lake Park. You just never know what you're going to see and when.